This course interrogates the foundational role of race in the development of modern technologies and media theory. Moving across different periods and media formations, we will address how race as a social category and cultural fantasy has been materialized through specific film technologies, representational norms, and institutional networks. At the same time, we will also look at a range of films and television shows that challenge protocols for constituting race as an object of knowledge and control. Topics will include the racial bias built into visual technologies, digital surveillance, race and digital cinematography, and the role of social media in resistance movements.